Examining the psychometric properties of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale in a sample of compulsive pornography users.

OBJECTIVE: The current study evaluated several psychometric properties of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) (Goodman et al., 1989) adapted for compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) in a sample of 103 men seeking treatment at a private and a public university clinic in the United States.

METHOD: Measures of mental health functioning were collected from patients on two separate appointments: the initial screening and the follow-up appointment.

RESULTS: All patients reported using pornography compulsively, and approximately half of the sample also reported a history of having frequent anonymous sex with strangers. Results found that the adapted Y-BOCS had good internal consistency reliability, moderate mean inter-item correlations, and good test-retest reliability. Results from a multiple regression analysis also found that affect dysregulation (depression and anxiety), particularly among single, impaired men, was significantly associated with more severe sexual obsessive and compulsive features. Approximately 94% of the sample met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, and 57% of men met criteria for two or more psychiatric disorders.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the current study suggest the CSB-Y-BOCS is a reliable measure of obsessive and compulsive symptoms associated with CSB, and clinicians and researchers could use this scale to aid in the assessment and treatment of problematic sexual behaviors.